Donald Trump: Establishment ‘warming up’ to me

Cruz hit back at Iowa Gov. Branstad, accusing the governor of being part of a political establishment that thrives on deal-making.

“Guys like Ted Cruz will never make a deal because he’s a strident guy”, Trump said. Now, Donald is entitled to do that. He went so far as to question Cruz’s ability to relate to people.

In this January 19, 2016, photo, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump smiles after speaking at the Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit in Altoona, Iowa.

It is no surprise that the establishment is in full panic mode, Cruz said.

“These contributors have many differences of opinion among themselves, but all agree that Trump is not a conservative, he is a mistake for the Republican Party, and he is the wrong man to pick up the pieces after the wreckage of the Obama years”, editor Rich Lowry said, warning against the “siren song” of Trump. He and Trump were both pulling away from the crowded Republican field in what was suddenly a two-man race for the party’s nomination.

Cruz had to cancel New Hampshire campaign events for the first-in-the-nation primary to return to Washington on Wednesday in order to vote on a bill limiting Syrian and Iraqi refugees – which failed to get the threshold 60 votes.

Despite the momentum being in Trump’s favor, Jones said, “While Cruz may be second in the polls in Iowa, he is right on Trump’s heels”. “It’s very hard to imagine him finishing in the top two in Iowa and in the top three in the other three early contests, and not continuing on to Texas and Super Tuesday”.

In the statement announcing the endorsement, Trump’s campaign described Palin as a conservative who “helped launch the careers of several key future leaders of the Republican Party and conservative movement”.

GOP consultant Kevin Madden said the timing will likely help Trump crowd out Cruz’s message as the Iowa caucuses approach. Ted Cruz, comparing it to a choice between poisoning or being shot.

Trump responded to Cruz’s attacks Friday morning via Twitter, writing: “Ted Cruz complains about my views on eminent domain, but without it we wouldn’t have roads, highways, airports, schools or even pipelines”.

“They are trying to take away so many rights”, he said. “What does it really matter?”

“I can’t have it both ways”, Graham said.

In addition to criticism from some conservative circles for some of his positions, the billionaire businessman has also faced resistance from the Republican establishment, which remains largely splintered between candidates like former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Florida Sen. “Cruz, he’s exhibited behavior in his time in the Senate that makes it impossible for me to believe that he could bring this country together”.

“What my own son is going through, what he is going through coming back, I can relate to other families who feel ramifications of PTSD and some of the woundedness that our soldiers do return with”, she told the audience at a rally for Donald Trump in Tulsa, Oklahoma.